Welcome! What is Craftsman Collaborative?
A platform focused on learning, building, and sharing the mindset of craftsmanship — through curiosity, design, and collective experience.
Introduction to Craftsmanship – The What
Craftsmanship is creating something that will last, starting from design. It’s the narrative and rationale behind the build.
For myself, this really came to life in the garage.
Learning to work on cars laid the groundwork.
Starting into custom projects brought detail into the picture: It’s one thing to bolt in a replacement part, but when you start from scratch it’s a whole different way of thinking.
What strikes me about a craftsman is not a natural born talent, rather a curiosity. Looking at the way things are made, the quality, the intent. It’s a matter of design.
How do you showcase this?
You can talk on it all you want, but it really comes down to the work.
Not only the output of the builder, but the thoughts going in.
This is where Craftsman Collaborative came to life – a medium to tell these stories, one project at a time.
Our Mission – The How
DIY with a higher level of detail & discussion.
Storytelling on how any given project came to life. Telling it how it is through tutorials, techniques, and conversation.
This isn’t limited to any one craft; the mindset extends through all projects.
The common thread? Craftsmanship.
The Maker’s Mark – The Who
My turning point came through one specific build, living this firsthand.
The long and drawn out task of building a custom fiberglass camper top.
After starting on a wild idea to retrofit a vintage Westfalia camper to a Jeep, the rough-fitted prototype wasn’t cutting it. I quickly went down the rabbit hole of learning fiberglass.
Some hours of research and watching vintage mold-making tutorials later, and I was still a rookie.
A few hundred hours in the garage, and things began to materialize. It all felt real when I put my name alongside that final fiberglass mold.
The idea of the maker’s mark: branding this work as my own.
Our Way Forward – The Scope
This was just one part of the many projects behind Craftsman Collaborative, begging the question – what do things look like moving forward?
This channel can be used today to share a custom camper build, the next day some DIY tooling for the garage, one day a cabin and plot of land.
This community around craftsmanship isn’t new, it’s out there.
We’re here to carry it forward, looking to experts and old-timers wiser than us along the way.
My Message To You
You’ve read this far, something must have resonated.
I’ve learned a thing or two about the craftsman side, but the collaborative side is meaningless without the community around it. I want to personally welcome you to join in and carry the conversation forward.